Flight readiness of space mission carrying Indian astronaut to ISS begins today
The flight readiness review for the AX-4 mission, which will carry four astronauts including the Indian Air Force (IAF) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS) early next month, begins on Wednesday. US space agency NASA's ISS programme manager, Dana Weigel, said this at a virtual mission overview press conference on Tuesday night.
Weigel said the AX-4 mission crew was equipped to live and undertake research on ISS with the completion of their training last month.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the crew aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to ISS on June 8 at 6.40pm IST from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
SpaceX Dragon Mission Management director Sarah Walker said the crew has completed 100 tests and rigorous training. 'Now multiple flight readiness reviews lie ahead to mitigate any risk and ensure the flight and mission's reliability.' Walker said that reviews will continue in the coming weeks, and adjustments, if any, will be communicated.
May 29 was announced as the initial launch date, which was postponed to June 8 last week.
Walker said Dragon's final integration campaign is being undertaken, and preflight checks and a rerun of tests to confirm flight worthiness are being conducted. 'We expect to transport the Dragon to our hangar next week to be integrated with the rocket for launch,' she said. 'We added a week after some findings. For instance, the parachutes did not pass the impact test since there was moisture in the bag. So, we had to replace the bags. Similarly, we had to replace a wire harness.'
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA will jointly undertake five experiments during the 14-day AX-4 mission. These will be in addition to the seven microgravity research experiments on the mission planned by India. Shukla, 39, will become the first Indian to visit ISS, in what will mark the nation's return to human spaceflight after four decades.
ISRO project director Sudeesh Balan said the five joint experiments relate to the human research programme. 'Shukla will participate in them. These are different from the seven biological experiments,' said Balan. He added that Shukla has practised in simulations to prepare physically and psychologically.
The seven experiments that national R&D laboratories and academic institutions have proposed range from studying the impact of microgravity radiation in ISS on edible microalgae and sprouting salad seeds in space to analysing human interaction with electronic displays in microgravity and the impact of microgravity on growth and yield parameters in food crop seeds.
Shukla is expected to gain critical hands-on experience in spaceflight operations, launch protocols, microgravity adaptation, and emergency preparedness—essential for India's crewed space ambitions—aboard the Ax-4 mission.
Weigel and Balan said ISRO and NASA have planned joint public outreach activities in the run-up to the mission. 'As part of this mission, NASA is partnering with ISRO to host a joint public downlink event to showcase the strength of the international collaboration and our show of commitment to expanding access to space. NASA and ISRO will also conduct five joint science investigations in addition to two outreach activities,' said Weigel.
Balan said Shukla will interact with students at two locations. 'There will be amateur radio contact with the student community. We have identified the students, and these activities are currently in progress. We have located two places in India where this will be happening.'
A decorated test pilot, Shukla was shortlisted under ISRO's Human Spaceflight Programme. He is among the top contenders for the Gaganyaan mission, India's first indigenous crewed orbital flight. On February 27 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled Shukla as one of the elite astronauts undergoing intensive training for Gaganyaan.
Born in Lucknow, Shukla was commissioned into the IAF in June 2006 and has 2,000 hours of flight experience as a combat leader and test pilot. He rose to the group captain rank in March 2024 and underwent rigorous year-long training at Moscow's Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City.
European Space Agency (ESA) and the Hungarian To Orbit Programme are the two other agencies that will be part of the Ax-4 mission. Shukla will serve as a pilot alongside Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut, who will command her second commercial human spaceflight mission. The other members are Sławosz Uznański, ESA project astronaut, the second Polish astronaut since 1978, and Tibor Kapu, the second Hungarian astronaut since 1980.
Axiom Space chief of mission services Allen Flynt said the AX-4 mission will undertake 60 scientific studies representing 31 countries, including the US, India, Poland, Hungary, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and European nations. 'The mission will enable a sustainable dynamic space industry.'
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